Shi Lang had decided that the team will go into the trap and deal with the black hand in the shadows permanently. He had no intention of letting go of the person who dared to attack his team and his people and took control of their minds. This was something that messed with his bottom line.
He was aware that if he walked into the trap, it might be dangerous for us, but at the same time, he wanted to find out what the motive of the other party was. So, he thought for an hour before he said, “Jack, you will lead Sophie and Ryan, to go and check the coordinates from where the reports were being submitted. We will have better results this way. Another thing is that the enemy will not expect us to attack both sites at the same time. He/She is not aware of how many people we have.”
Ryan said, “Boss, I do not understand how will we do this. I mean, we do not know anything about this planet. Also, what about you? What if you got trapped? What then?”
Shi Lang rolled his eyes and said, “Kid, do you have only this much trust in my skills? I did not show anyone else my skills, but you guys only. So I still have some cards up my sleeves. You do not have to worry about me. However, I need you to assure me that you will not get captured, also, cover your ears with spiritual energy, and communicate with each other using hand signs only.”
The three people understood his intention. They knew that the enemy was someone who can manipulate the minds of the people. If they were to get in his control, who knew what the consequences might be?
The team nodded, and they split up. Shi Lang had told them about the terrain and the military arrangement from his past recollection, he also told them to be careful about the traps and the patrol arrangements. As someone, who participated in the rebuilding of this government and military, he was aware of the positive and negative things of the arrangements.
Even if they were allies, nothing lasts forever. Just like, right now. After the team split up, they proceeded on foot, and Shi Lang was also headed to the trap coordinates. His speed was faster than the team of three. His suit was displaying the telemetry and the location of the three continuously.
If they encountered something they could not deal with, then Shi Lang will rush for support. Thinking about this, he shuttled through the woods without leaving any traces. It took him half a day to reach the coordinates provided by Zyra.
He did not reach the spot directly, but first activated his illusion array, and then surveilled the entire place. He was calm and composed throughout the process, he even set up his own set of traps and arrays in the region and marked those places with his suit. The visor displayed these spots clearly in bright red color.
When he was sure that everything that can be done was done, he moved closer to look for his people, and he also covered his ears with spiritual energy and also his eyes. When he arrived at the location, he looked around and found a tree house. This place was not very appealing in terms of architecture. However, the thing that caught Shi Lang’s eye was the spade painted on the wall of the house.
He could tell that the paint used for this marking was blood. His eyes turned calm, he was enraged. With a jump, he reached the doorstep of the tree house and pushed open the door. It was a ball hanging by three trees. Inside the ball, he found a figure sitting in his chair. A husky voice sounded, “Welcome, a friend from afar, how are you?”
This was a peculiar way to greet an outlander. Not many people used this sentence. Shi Lang replied, “Greetings, May I know, where my people are?”
The figure replied, “You have already found that but you did not go there and came here, that is interesting.”
Shi Lang chuckled and said, “Without your cooperation, even if I found my men, I cannot bring them out. I do not wish to see my men getting killed without a cause. Please tell me what can I do for you?”
The figure was surprised and said, “I was told that you were a man of steel will. That you will never give up on your ideals. What happened today?”
Shi Lang sighed and thought for a bit as he said, “My people have been through thick and thin with me. How can I avoid them? Ideals can be reformed, but family? It cannot be found again. Thus, I decided to break away from my ideals.”
The figure was sitting down on a chair and was unaware that at this moment, Shi Lang was using his brain to type a message and send it to the team to stop them from engaging the enemy. Just as he finished, the figure said, “Take off your visor and have a seat.”
Shi Lang showed some hesitation and then with a deep breath he took off his visor. The message was sent. The figure looked at his face and asked, “May I take a look at your visor?”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “Do not think that just because I am cooperative, you are my boss. You are just a coward who plays in the dark. I do not mind what you do, how you do it. However, you must give me my people, or I will take them myself.”
His tone was firm and he was trying to locate the eyes of this character in front of him. His motive was to find the eyes and then cast the Shura Domain at this guy. This way, even if the person is just slightly dazed, Shi Lang will subdue him and interrogate him.
However, the person was clever and was sitting in dark with his figure covered with a cloak. Hearing Shi Lang’s assertive reply, the person clicked his tongue and said, “Now that makes things difficult. Why do you think I will let go of the strongest bargaining chips in my hand? You just claimed that you value them. What If I tell you that if you deny cooperating, then I will kill those people? What will you do?”
Shi Lang sighed and said, “You are just a hoax. The real you is still a coward and hidden somewhere else. I will tell you now, either you give up my men, or, you kill them and run away to the end of the galaxy. Or you give them up and run away. Your attitude of a wannabe entitled to ass makes me irksome.”
He said this in a direct tone. Blunt like the face of a sword, slapping the enemy right in the face. The man stood up and said, “Do you really wish for me to kill them?”
Shi Lang shrugged his shoulders and said, “Yes, you can try to kill them remotely. Just do show me their corpses.”
The man chuckled, which eventually turned into loud laughter, then he calmed down and said, “Since you do not care about your people, why shall I? I will kill them and then you can answer their parents and loved ones about how they died.”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “All the troops under my command, they have all prepared their last letters, and they will be sent when they die. I will bear the responsibility and live with it. That is all. You can never get a hold of me with this lowly trick.”
He was adamant about his decision. The man said, “Very well, then all the males will die and the females will become my playthings.”
Then the man erupted in laughter, however, suddenly, Shi Lang caught a glimpse of his eyes, and the scene froze. The young general did not wait for anything and directly cast the Shura Domain in the mind of the enemy. Then he went forward to stand in front of the man and placed his hand on his head and said, “Soul snatcher.”
The process of soul searching began and the details poured into his brain like a light beam through the dark. A lot of things became clear after this and anger crept up his face. His team was in bad condition and Commander Silence was laying at the side with her body injured internally.
This man had a goal and that goal was discovered, and now this guy would try to use his people to capture the world. This was not a good thing, but this guy wanted to kill a lot of people to ensure his iron hand rules.
In short, some sort of trauma had locked a part of his memories away, but Shi Lang could tell all the changes in Commander Silence’s persona had definitely affected her and turned her into a sociopath.